Sol Food has become a San Rafael culinary treasure. If you mention eating out in Marin, it’s bound to come up. In my circles, anyway. There are many reasons for this: incredible Puerto Rican beans, salads, plantains, local meats, housemade hot sauce and limeade. I could go on. Sol Food is also open late which is a rarity in Marin. So not that I needed convincing, but I was excited to check out La Bodega, their new little annex right next door that boasts a seamless take-out and pick-up service along with a few special items you won’t find at the other two locations. Currently, they’re renovating their larger corner spot, so the pick-up annex is handling a lot of spill-over. There are lines, there is bustle, but they’re all handling it remarkably well.

Market items at La Bodega

The first difference you’ll notice upon walking into La Bodega is the little display of grocery items you can purchase: hot sauce, interesting olives, beans, and plantain chips. They also have their normal selection of beverages, including coconut waters, Fizzie Lizzie’s and a few sodas.

Beverages at La Bodega

But one of the reasons to sneak into the new annex now is for the whole free-range roasted chicken or ribs that you can’t get at the other locations. According to a few of the servers, they’re going to continue to do a few distinct dishes at their new mid-block location to draw in more folks who might go to the reliable corner spot instead.

Nice piece, Megan. Sol Food is definitely a cult destination in Marin. They even had a PR person out front of their original spot (under quick plumbing renovation, as mentioned) to “answer any questions” and make sure there wasn’t an uproar.

Author

Megan Gordon

Megan Gordon is originally from Eureka, CA although she's lived in numerous college towns around the country (another story altogether). A freelance food and travel writer, Megan has written for publications like Ready Made Magazine, The San Francisco Examiner, Edible SF and Edible Marin & Wine Country, Olive Oil Times and The San Francisco Bay Guardian. She writes regularly for Apartment Therapy's The Kitchn and maintains her own local food blog, A Sweet Spoonful. Yes, Megan even tweets @meganjanesf. In addition to writing and photographing food, Megan is the founder (and head baker) of Marge, a Bay Area baking company specializing in classic American pies and nostalgic desserts.